SLOWPOKE - 1971 1400DX Bluebird 4dr (510)

[carterb]

Before and after

 

[carterb]

I'm really getting tired of driving the 620 to work but at this point in time, I don't have the energy to yard out the heater assembly from under the dash (you should see how cramped it is under there in a RHD car!) so I fashioned up a heater bypass MacGyver would be proud of.

 

 

Another test drive revealed elevated temps once again.

 

When I got home I lifted the hood to find out where the coolant is going now.

 

 

This was the upper coolant hose from Granny.  Must have gotten cut when the radiator was pushed back into the engine.  I hadn't noticed during removal or installation. 

 

After swapping for the hose that was in Slowpoke to begin with (I didn't want to reinstall as it was kind of balloony looking)  I can now drive around with no leaks and the temp staying right where it should.

 

After re-installing the hood I have taken the car back and forth to work now a few times.  The 5spd is awesome!  The shifts are so tight and it is great to drop about 500rpm on the freeway leg of my commute. 

 

The engine leaves something to be desired at the moment.  I need to take the carbs apart and give them a baseline rebuild as the car is not easy to start, any attempt at brisk acceleration is balked at (the car flutters and falls on its face) and the carbs diesel (run on) when the ignition is cut.  I'll check the timing too but this one was running perfect in Granny.  Could the distributor have been "adjusted" in the crash?

 

I was hoping I would just be able to bolt them on and go since they were in such nice looking condition but that appears not to be the case.

 

I'll let you know how that goes.

 

In the mean time, look what I found on Yahoo Japan!

 

 

Just don't ask me how much I paid for it...  : (

 

--carter

 

 

Edited April 2, 2022 by carterb

[Trophy24]

Sometimes the cost is worth it when you compare the effort required to adapt something else. Nice find!

[Icehouse]

2 hours ago, carterb said:

 

 

Just don't ask me how much I paid for it...  : (

 

--carter

 

 

 

 

My guess is less then one of your wife's Lexus would cost.  

[carterb]

1 hour ago, Icehouse said:

 

 

My guess is less then one of your wife's Lexus would cost.  

 

What do you say Paul?

[Trophy24]

Much less lol

[carterb]

I removed the carbs, stripped them down, and re-base-lined them. 

 

 

 

Then I reinstalled and balanced them.  I also installed an NOS dual choke cable and a brand new set of NGK spark plugs.  After all this, the car starts and runs so much better!  It still feels like there is some top end missing but at least I can accelerate now without the engine falling on its face.

[carterb]

Now with the engine running better, and the weather still crappy (cold and wet) it was time to tackle that heater control valve.  I was not looking forward to this.  There is allot going on under the dash - especially on the right side - on a RHD car.

 

 

We'll just start with the left hand side, then.  : )

 

 

Just documenting so I can put stuff back where it goes.

 

 

Wiring check too

 

 

removing the defrost tube reveals allot

 

 

Out and on the bench

 

 

Yicky!

 

 

Hawaii style?

 

 

Moment of truth!  Thankfully the new valve matches the old - fit/form/function, not condition.

 

 

The rubber hose was still in good shape so it went back on the car.

 

 

After re-assembly, I'm happy to report there are no leaks and the actuation is nice and smooth and I once again have working defrost!

At first, I assumed that would mean no rain for the next 5 months but nope, it's still cold and wet - like every day!  What a crazy spring we are having here in the NW.

[carterb]

In opposition to my complaints above, 510 day was really quite nice - well, it was not raining anyway and look!  Shadows!!!

 

Here are a few shots of Slowpoke at work parked next to Jeff's SR20DET 260Z.

 

 

 

 

 

Unfortunately, after 510 day, the Slowpoke started running poorly again and even died on the freeway the next day.  I believe I'm having fuel starvation issues and will likely be removing the fuel tank this weekend to investigate.  Wish me luck!

 

 

[carterb]

I used the suspect 12v fuel pump from the race car to suck all the gas out of the tank.  The pump didn't miss a beat and the gas never stopped flowing.

 

 

Jacking the rear of the car up a little while pumping out the gas leaves only 1/2 cup of gas in the tank maybe?  Impressive. 

 

Fuel tank removed with little drama.

 

 

Possibly the cleanest 510 fuel tank on earth?

 

 

 

 

No sign of debris or rust or anything that would seem likely to clog the fuel pickup.

 

Next I back blew the line from the front of the car into a clean 1 gallon jug.  Nothing.  Clean as a whistle.

 

Then I removed the fuel filter.  It was a chore to say the least and revealed that the "soft" line under the filter was in really poor shape.  It actually ripped in the process.

 

 

 

It's possible that the car was sucking air through this line but it is double wall so I have my doubts, still though, I'm running out of suspects.

 

I went to get a new filter and they don't stock them anymore at my local auto parts store.  Jeff reminded me that these cars are 50 years old now.  Still, Nissan used the same filter for how many years?  I have some on order from Rockauto.  I did re-fit the tank, replace the suspect fuel line, and hook everything back up with the old filter.  No leaks and the car runs - at least in the garage - but no test drive yet... 

 

What did one SU say to the other SU?

 

Stay tuned!...

 

 

 

[carterb]

Where did I leave off?

 

I got the car back together and took a test drive.  Well, I tried to anyhow.  It was extremely difficult to start (I had already primed the carbs) and it seemed like it would only spark as I turned the key from start to run, but only one spark/cough, not enough to get the engine actually started.  Finally (reluctantly) it started and I backed out of the garage to head up the hill.  It died.  Reset and tried again.  It died.  Finally I was able to coax it up the hill and start a drive.  It died multiple times.  I coasted back to the garage and sought advice from others. 

 

It seems obvious now this is not a fueling issue.  It is ignition related.  I assume I will be troubleshooting starting with the ignition switch and going forward from there but Jeff suggests I check the coil first.  Why?  Because he's usually right.

 

I start with the primary, and read about 1.8 ohms

 

 

Then I measure secondary, and get no reading.  (I know it says "1" but nothing is going on here)

 

 

Positive and Negative terminals to center give same result

 

 

Unsure if my method is somehow wrong - I grab a nondescript coil next to my toolbox and measure 10.67

 

 

The primary reading is about 1.8 - just like the coil in the car.  So I swap it out. 

 

Car started right up and the test drive revealed smoother running and more power than I have ever had!  I'm guessing the coil has been bad or going bad the entire time I've owned the car, as even the L14 seemed to deliver less than what it should have.

 

Still wanted to check some other things.  I see I'm in need of a new cap and rotor.

 

 

 

Anyone recognize this distributor?  It's a Nissan electronic distributor, no matchbox, and a screw on cap.  I need help with cap and rotor part numbers!

 

So happy it seems to be fixed now!

 

[carterb]

Since the fix was quick, I had time to do other things.

 

First I was going to put on the hood bumpers but I didnt' remember which is which.  Hollow in front or in back?

 

 

Then made plans for a choke lever mount, I want it next to the steering column (based on where I went through the firewall) and these two steering column bolts could provide the mounting points.

 

 

 

Next step was upgrading the left side fender mirror.  I bought this one from yahoo Japan.  NOS mirror with broken glass.

 

 

My plan was to swap my good glass from my dented mirror onto this mirror housing.

 

 

Remember, this mirror came from Granny.

 

 

Besides the obvious damage, look at the crimp/form marks around the perimeter of the mirror housing opening.

 

At some point, Nissan changed the way these were made.  The mirror portion is different too!  See how one has a protruding boss and the other has some crimp fitting going on?

 

 

I think the one on the right is the early style.

 

The face is different too.  On the later mirrors, the glass is held in with a gasket.

 

 

Here it is swapped over.  Notice how this early housing doesn't have the crimp marks around the opening.

 

 

Time to shed the winter tires too.  I'll run my autocross tires for a while, since I'm not doing any autocrossing at the moment.  Might as well run them on the street before they get too hard.

 

Jeff got his Sunny going again too!

 

 

 

Happy days!

[DARIN 510]

Hollow hood bumpers in the back 😉

[carterb]

On 6/4/2022 at 11:15 AM, DARIN 510 said:

Hollow hood bumpers in the back 😉

 

Installed, thank you.

 

[carterb]

I was doing some work in Boeing Tukwila this summer that required a trip down South I5 past the stadiums and Boeing field.  This area of I5 has expansion joints from hell and I swear I was getting airborne over some of them - such was the viciousness of the ride.

When I reached my exit and let off the gas to be slowed by engine compression, I was taken aback by the sudden change in my exhaust note - accompanied by a many pops and bangs...  I surmised that the violent trip had somehow re-tuned my exhaust, though never heard any clunking metal pipes or saw any swerving cars in my rear view mirror.

My suspicion was confirmed once I pulled in to the parking lot, got out of the car, and inspected my undercarriage.  Although the rear muffler was still with me, it was no longer attached to the car but instead, was hanging by the rubber exhaust donut with the tail pipe pointed up toward the sky at a 45 degree angle.  

I wasn't sure it would survive the trip home in that same precarious state so I removed it and placed it in the trunk for the ride home.

 

 

It wasn't really the trip down I-5 that caused the issue.  It seems time and the elements had rusted and eroded away the majority of the connection between the muffler and the final length of exhaust pipe - the whoop-de-doo freeway trip just delivered the coup de grace.

 

As many of you know, sometimes we decide when to upgrade our Datsuns, and sometimes our Datsuns decide when they need to be upgraded.  This was simply a case of the latter.  : )

 

[carterb]

Knowing a new exhaust was in my future, I felt it was time to correct the poor rear suspension alignment I was suffering as is commonly a part of lowering a 510.

 

I am not that low (Jeff says "old man low") but in addition to severely negative camber, I also had 1/8" of toe out which makes for a very lively tail.

 

 

Not wanting to do a fully adjustable rear cross-member at this time I figured it was time to try my hand at slotting trailing arm mounting tabs.  This decision was made even more attractive when I remembered that I had a fully sand blasted rear cross member with that modification already "complete".

 

 

I didn't yet have the experience to judge whether or not the slotting was done correctly or extensively enough but it seemed to match convention so I committed myself. 

 

Next step then was to enlarge the exhaust hole with a 4" pipe.  I'm only planning 2" exhaust at this point but if you are going to do it, you might as well do it!

 

 

 

Once fabrication was complete, I applied liberal amounts of primer and glossy black top coat.  This bird would be proud to lift its skirt!

 

 

A couple of months went by before I finally made the time to swap the parts.

 

With the rear of the car suitably supported on jack stands - I started (as with most projects) by taking some pictures of things "the way they were" so I can remember where various bits and bobs should be re-attached.

 

 

 

I also clamped off the rear brake soft lines to avoid draining the master cylinder and necessitating a full re-bleed.  This was necessary as I had decided the whole project would be easier if I just dropped the entire rear subframe from the car.

 

 

 

This allowed me to swap the arms and rear-end to the new crossmember without even undoing the half-shafts!

 

 

In hindsight, I probably should have swapped in a 3.9 rear end while I was at it.  The N14 cars had a 4 point something rear that makes for pretty high revs - even with the 5th speed overdrive calculated in.

 

Looks like lots of adjustment is available.

 

 

Making sure I had the washers and isolators in the correct sequence before final torque.

 

 

 

Almost there!

 

 

[carterb]

After everything was together, I found that once camber was corrected, there was still a little toe out.  Not wanting to drop the entire rear end and disassemble again, I attempted to lengthen the outboard slots forward by simply dropping the control arms down.  Ultimately I was able to do the required work with a carbide burr chucked up in a pneumatic grinder.  I wouldn't recommend doing the entire slot this way but for an extension, it proved acceptable.

 

 

With this change, I was able to achieve about 1/8" toe in at just under zero degrees rear camber.

 

 

Note the swap back to stock wheels/tires.  This was planned.  I knew those big fat R888 tires would not still fit under the rear fenders once camber has been corrected.

 

I would love to report that it drives significantly better now but tall skinny 13" tires pointed in the right direction on our narrow track cars probably wander almost as much as the sticky 185/60R14s pointed in the wrong direction.  : )

[carterb]

Monday I finally made it to the exhaust shop - after running most of the summer with no muffler.  This appointment was none too soon as I had long ago grown tired of driving a car that sounded like one of the bombers at the Tenino speedway.

 

Wayne at A-1 Muffler in Everett did the duty.

 

 

 

Fresh 2" pipe from the collector to the tail with a v-band clamp ahead of the rear crossmember and an 18" Cherry Bomb glasspack providing muffler duty.

 

I had him install an O2 bung as well to facilitate the use of a wide-band sensor for tuning my carbs. 

 

 

 

 

[carterb]

Looking handsome with hub caps - but really must go back to cool aftermarket JDM wheels come summer.

 

 

 

[carterb]

Upon removing the rear parcel shelf / gas tank divider from the trunk when I had removed the shock nuts in order to drop the rear suspension, I noticed (and smelled) a wet spot in the trunk where the plastic vent/overflow line had become dislocated from its exit point through the trunk floor.  It seemed like it had shrunk a little over the years and pulled out from the sealed penetration point and the only way I could fix this would be to replace the tube with a longer one or extend its length.

 

I chose the extension solution so I cut it back a little to leave room for a fitting.  You can see the old gray sealant as well as the wet spot left by the weeping line.

 

 

And here you can see the connection fitting and new line going through the trunk floor.

 

 

The old factory line just ended below the trunk floor and drained into the rear frame rail.  I didn't like that solution myself so I continued the line out the bottom of the rail.  The existing hole provided the path.

 

 

Although this is a 1971, it doesn't have the trunk mounted evap tank like our '69 ('70?) and up cars do.

 

It is interesting to see what federal mandates (and possibly - market preferences) necessitated changes to the US cars vs the JDM cars.

Edited November 25, 2022 by carterb

[carterb]

Just as an FYI - the stock hole size in the rear cross member is about 2 9/16"

 

 

The flange OD of the V-band clamp is just over 2 5/8"

 

 

So if you wanted to add a service joint to your 2" exhaust on an unmodified cross member - you most certainly could, but the exhaust tail section would have to be dropped along with the cross member - the flange OD would prevent you from drawing it back through for full separation.  A 3" pipe would provide sufficient clearance though - the 4" pipe I used is not necessary.

 

P.S.

 

Here are the exhaust parts I bought:

 

V-band clamp:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0987JF1W3?psc=1&ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details

 

O2 bung:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01JYZA6GO?psc=1&ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details

 

Cherry Bomb:

https://www.summitracing.com/parts/imm-87507cb

 

[banzai510(hainz)]

Cheerybomb???????????

 

IM DIGGING THE STOCK LOOK!!!!!!!!!!

I was thinking of putting these on my stock rims and the same hubcaps you got. but 355$  I can get 195/45/15 cheap TOYOs for my ROTA RBs tire bad on rear inside wear from camber or put those 195/45 tires on my SSRmesh. Or just sell the ROTAS and SSRs  go back to stock like you

155/8013 whitewall

https://www.ebay.com/itm/225251107348?_trkparms=amclksrc%3DITM%26aid%3D111001%26algo%3DREC.SEED%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D20180816085401%26meid%3D622b14e69aff498a96dffc5bba8853ef%26pid%3D100970%26rk%3D5%26rkt%3D15%26sd%3D295018704432%26itm%3D225251107348%26pmt%3D0%26noa%3D1%26pg%3D2380057%26brand%3DUniroyal&_trksid=p2380057.c100970.m5481&_trkparms=pageci%3A26898eb0-6f4c-11ed-ae9f-0ee7476b2933|parentrq%3Abf8a85781840a9f7369ffb30fff66ce6|iid%3A1

 

195/45/15

https://www.ebay.com/itm/175483048113?_trkparms=amclksrc%3DITM%26aid%3D777008%26algo%3DPERSONAL.TOPIC%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D20221102144041%26meid%3D183f175c72384b55b877b634f60d73f3%26pid%3D101251%26rk%3D1%26rkt%3D1%26itm%3D175483048113%26pmt%3D0%26noa%3D1%26pg%3D2380057%26algv%3DPersonalizedTopicsV2WithWatchlistFeaturesAndTopicMLR%26brand%3DToyo&_trksid=p2380057.c101251.m47269&_trkparms=pageci%3Ac4dfc40f-6f4c-11ed-b117-ba20dacd9aa1|parentrq%3Abf8e931d1840ad3462afccbefff7348a|iid%3A1

Edited November 28, 2022 by banzai510(hainz)

[oukippy]

On 4/2/2022 at 6:31 PM, carterb said:

 

 

In the mean time, look what I found on Yahoo Japan!

 

 

Just don't ask me how much I paid for it...  : (

 

--carter

 

 

 

Hello,

 

How did you find it ? With the OEM part number ?

 

Thank you,

 

Ouki

[datzenmike]

X1121-30600 for the water control valve. There is also one 'for cold area' what ever this means.... X1180-30600.

[carterb]

6 hours ago, oukippy said:

 

Hello,

 

How did you find it ? With the OEM part number ?

 

Thank you,

 

Ouki

 

Nissan p/n 27091-A4601

 

I purchased from yahoo.japan through Buyee